Value and Conclusion
- The Silverstone Strider Plus ST50F-P retails for $79.99
- Decent price/performance ratio
- Good voltage regulation at 5V
- Low voltage drops at +12V in Advanced Transient Response tests
- Good efficiency throughout 20%-80% load, for the PSU's efficiency rating
- High efficiency at loads below 100W
- Fully modular
- Compact size
- Quite good ripple/noise suppression
- It lacks an MOV in the transient filtering stage
- Could not handle full power with over 43°C ambient
- Loose voltage regulation at +12V
- Voltage regulation at 3.3V exceeded 5%
- 3.3V failed in the 2nd Advanced Transient Response test
- Only three peripheral connectors
It is very unlikely to find a fully modular, average wattage PSU that performs decently in this price range, so the Silverstone ST50F-P earns a point here. Also overall efficiency was good, it was especially impressive with loads below 100W. What troubled me the most was that above 43°C ambient, the PSU couldn't handle even 450W of load and kept shutting down. The manufacturer clearly states that the maximum operational ambient is 40°C, however the ATX specification recommends 50°C. Also I would like to see voltage regulation at +12V within 3% and 3.3V within 5% at least. A pleasant surprise was the close to 2% voltage regulation at 5V but I would prefer a more stable 12V at the cost of weaker 5V.
Silverstone's ST50F-P is an affordable PSU with fully modular cabling that will be a decent choice for powering small systems with a mid-range graphics card. If it could handle the heat and do full power at 45-50°C then it would compensate the bad overall performance of 3.3V and earn an even better rating, but unfortunately this was not the case.